A Mountainous Journey: Hiking Galore!

Yesterday Pastor invited me on another hike. This time we traveled south of Anchorage to Girdwood, AK to hike the Winner Creek Gorge Trail. The trail begins near a four star Alyeska Prince Hotel and Resort. It is about a 5 mile round trip hike and includes an awesome hand tram that spans the deep canyon from high above Glacier Creek.

We began our hike walking through North America’s Northern most rainforest. You read correctly rainforest! This is not a tropical forests, which is what most envision when we hear the term, it is a temperate pacific Costal Rainforest. We walked through dense forest, green and lush with Ferns, Devils Club, Cow Parsnips and other pants. The majority of the trail follows the original Iditarod Trail which has since been moved.

This is an Avalanche Shoot...Avalanche comes flying down here in winter.

Growth on the tree

1 more mile to the Hand Tram...notice the official Iiditarod logo on top from the ORIGINAL Iditarod trail it has since been moved.

After traveling about a mile and a half we found the best part of the trail at Winner Creek. Winner Creek is a beautiful, clear running stream flowing through the rain forest. When we first came across the creek we found a wide bridge crossing it. The was not actually part of the but it did provide a nice viewpoint. The bridge was very wide and had the planks far apart I would say between 6-12 inches. I had to watch my step as some of the planks were broken, and if one stepped in the wide gaps between the plank it could result in a nasty fall. I crossed all the way only to find out that it led nowhere. I looked back to see pastor standing in the middle waving me back. On the opposite side of the bridge I did find some lasso rope and an odd trapping looking thing. I’m not sure what or who was using it but it was interesting none the less.

The bridge, watch your step!

Broken Plank

Trapping?

A little further up the trail was another bridge – here the trail crosses Winner Creek Gorge where the creeks drops into a steep, narrow, rocky gorge. The sights and sounds were wonderful. It sounded like a constant rumble of thunder it was very impressive.

The trail then continued to Glacier Greek. The Glacier Creek crossing is a lot more fun than just a bridge – it is a hand powered tram that spans the deep canyon from high above the river. From the tram, the view is wonderful, and the tram itself is a fun diversion! Let me tell you, going down on the tram was much easier than coming back but Pastor and I managed to get back to the side and made our way out of the trail another 2 miles.

After the 5 mile hike at Winner Creek we hit the road again to travel to Portage, Alaska. The drive to Portage, and the drive to Girdwood, was absolutely gorgeous. Mountains all the way and the road follows the Alaska Railroad as it heads to Seward. I got to see stunning mountains, lots of birds, waterfalls coming down the side of the cliffs and the Alaska Railroad train.

Bald Eagle-click for larger view

Once in Portage we went to the entry point to Whittier which is on the other side of the mountain. The tunnel is 2.5 miles long and goes literally through the mountain. We opted not to go so turned around and instead went to the visitor center of Portage and then for another hike right up to a glacier.

Byron Glacier-notice the blue color

Ice in the 35 degree glacier fed lake.

Byron Glacier!

Sign before Whittier Tunnel

The glacier name is Byron Glacier and it was bright blue in color. I noticed the temperature change in the car. At Girdwood it was 63º and in Portage at the parking for the Byron Glacier it was 51º. The hike was relatively flat and I was glad for the cooler temperature. You wouldn’t think that 63º is hot but it is. Pastor told me before I arrived about the temperature and anything over 65º is too hot to hike and he was not kidding. I’m not quite sure why it feels so hot if it’s the humidity or elevation but it does and until you visit Alaska you will think it strange just as I did before I arrived.